Program Highlight: Garden Discovery

The Garden Discovery Program, a longstanding collaboration between the UW MBWC and Seattle Parks and Recreation, is an opportunity to connect with nature and engage with others living with memory loss and family and friends. The experience is offered as a monthly program in the spring (April-June), summer (July-September), and fall (October-December) in Maude’s Garden at the Memory Hub. The 2026 season is made possible by generous support from Skyline Seattle.

Garden Discovery is in full swing this spring and summer as program participants find the garden in its most colorful season of growth and reflective of the garden care work of volunteer gardeners. Each session, social time in Maude’s Garden leads into nature-inspired projects, led by horticultural therapist Dawn Robinson, where “plants become a shared language,” as she often says.

“Since I’ve acquired memory loss, so much of my day is filled with thoughts of ‘I can’t do this anymore, and this is like the opposite of that,” said a participant. “It was fun and simple and flies in the face of what I can’t do anymore. It’s nice to be in the frame of reference of things I can do.”

Recent activities have included the ancient Japanese ‘kokedama’ art of growing plants in moss-covered balls of soil, making May Day baskets of marigolds, and enjoying edible flowers. Projects are always designed to be accessible, collaborative, and engaging to the senses. In conversation around the table, thoughtfully guided by Tamara Keefe of Seattle Parks and Recreation, participants often reflect on their experience of the day’s program or the garden. 

“It’s therapeutic to work with beautiful stuff and to do it together,” said a program participant. “I’m at peace.” Learn more about the Garden Discovery Program.